Michigan’s top school officials sent a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday, asking for a waiver from federal regulations requiring standardized accountability tests, such as Michigan’s M-STEP.

“When we return to school, the focus should be on tending to children’s immediate needs: physical, socioemotional and academic,” wrote State Superintendent Michael Rice and State Board of Education President Casandra Ulbrich.

“In many cases, children will have experienced trauma. In other cases, they will simply need to be reacclimated into their schools. In all cases, students will have missed instruction, and this lost instruction will render any conclusions about test results dubious, especially any comparisons across school years and in light of the pending public health concerns of parents, students, and staff.”

Michigan asked to cancel the tests Friday, and was told by the U.S. Department of Education that they could only be canceled if the school closure period overlapped the testing period. Michigan schools are currently slated to reopen April 6, and M-STEP testing begins April 13. Tuesday’s letter is a request for a waiver from that policy.

The M-STEP is given to public school students in grades 3-8. It is used to track how school districts are performing compared with other state districts, as part of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, and in Michigan it is also used as a factor in teacher evaluations.

The stakes of the M-STEP are higher this year for third-graders, who, for the first time, could be flagged for repeating third grade if their reading scores show they are more than a grade behind, under a state law that is to take effect this year.

The closure over the coronavirus outbreak means third-graders will have missed three weeks of intensive reading preparation for the M-STEP.

Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, took to social media Tuesday to throw her support behind the cancellation of tests completely, or, at minimum, a one-year delay on the third-grade retention portion of the state’s “read-or-flunk” law.

“We must also eliminate the 3rd grade reading law retention piece and student growth portion of teachers’ evaluations for this school year as state test results will not accurately reflect student learning due to weeks of lost instruction,” Polehanki, a former teacher, wrote on Twitter.

“It’s time for Betsy DeVos to do the right thing on behalf of our students and waive statewide assessments,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement endorsing the letter to DeVos. “When our kids get back to school, our number one priority must be ensuring they have the resources they need to get back on track.”

Michigan Democrats, including Whitmer, have generally opposed holding students back under the third-grade reading law, which was passed by Republicans in Lansing under the Snyder administration. Many Democrats, who draw heavy campaign support from teachers’ unions, have also been skeptical of tying teacher job evaluations to student performance on standardized tests.

This continuously updated post includes details of Michigan's confirmed COVID-19 cases, maps of locations, state curve data, what the state is doing to contain the spread, and expert suggestions on how you can stay safe.

Bottle returns can resume June 15. Drive-ins, immediately. Ditto for housekeeping services. But you have to wait until next week for restaurants and bars. And still no word on when tattoo shops, hairdressers and trampoline parks can reopen.

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Urban Parent

Tue, 03/17/2020 - 8:51pm

Districts such as Pontiac can sigh with relief. Over 50% of classrooms are staffed all year by uncertified daily substitutes who provide little instruction. There is no transparency so parents and taxpayers do not realize the conditions in these districts. Of course, students are not ready for high stakes tests when they spend the school day led by unqualified subs:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cBYErvSKmE